Despite your lengthy posts (not a criticism - I understand your frustration) - I am still unclear about the PROCEDURE you are using.
As EP is an ADMIN ONLY function, it is extremely unlikely that it will ever be affected by CATALOG-SIDE customization, so there should be no impact on its functionality if you are using a custom template, or if you have done major edits to the shop-front functionality.
I have been using EP since 2005, and as I use EP almost on a daily basis (with a large number of webshops I have built for clients all over the world) - if there was a fundamental error in the EP code, I'm sure I would have experienced problems.
True... EP itself is rather "clunky" code, and is very "unforgiving", but practically all the posts I read on this subject are a consequence of 2 general possibilities:-
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That the WRONG version of EP has been installed, (or the right version has been incorrectly installed).
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That the delimited file people are trying to "load" contains errors. (This, in my opinion, is the biggest issue resulting in EP failures).
As I say in my WIKI, after installing EP, it is a good idea to TEST it with a few "test" products. So, use Langer's "demo" file that he stores in the TEMP folder as the "template" for your test. You just need his COLUMN HEADERS for this test - NOT his product data.
So... start off with a blank spreadsheet that has ONLY the Column headers (eg: v_products_model , v_products_name_1 ... etc)
Add THREE to FOUR of your own TEST products, making sure to put appropriate data into each cell on the spreadsheet (see my WIKI for greater detail).
SAVE the spreadsheet into the correct format - for EP 1.2.5.4 this must be TAB DELIMITED TXT. (Keep this file on your hard drive).
Go to EP under TOOLS in your webshop Admin Panel. Assuming it has been properly installed, use the Upload EP File "Browse" feature to locate the TXT file on your hard drive, then click "Insert into db".
If you named your v_categories_name_1 to something like "EP Test Category One" for the 3 or 4 test products, then a Category called EP Test Category One will now appear in your store, and those test products will show up, under that category.
This simple test verifies that the EP FUNCTION is working. If you experience problems after this with actual data, then the fault is not EP...
